Never Be Alone
by LaylaBinx
Summary: "I said you're not going to be alone. You still have me." Mike wonders what will happen after his grandmother dies and Harvey steps in to offer an answer .- Fluff!


**Ohhh! I found this beautiful little prompt floating around on LiveJournal and pounced it! I loved it so much! I hope you guys like it too! :D**

**I still don't own Suits =/ *le sigh***

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Harvey was in a bad mood. No, scratch that; Harvey was very irritated. No, scratch that too; Harvey was just plain pissed off. He'd been in an awful mood all day and there was very little, if anything, that could make it any better by the end of the afternoon. He'd been reamed in court earlier that morning because his witness had forgotten to mention a few key elements like accepting bribes from the opposing lawyers in order to give them a stronger case and basically sabotaging all the hard work he'd put into that case. Jessica had given him an ass chewing as well because that case had been high profile and she had been counting on him to close it and add another notch to Pearson Harden's bedpost. All of this coupled with the fact that he'd had a headache since he woke up that morning had done absolutely nothing to improve his mood.

He flipped the file on his desk closed and pushed it away in disgust. He was tired of staring at it and until Mike got finished with the other part of the file, he was basically dead locked. He stood suddenly, pushing away from the desk and taking long, deliberate strides to the door. He needed that file. Mike should have had it on his desk an hour ago. The kid was slacking and he had no patience for slacking right now. Not today.

He breezed past Donna, ignoring her questioning gaze, and walked down the hall to Mike's desk. Usually, he liked to instill the fear of God into the younger man just because it was kind fun to see him squirm a bit. Today though he was just irritated and he was going to instill the fear of God AND Harvey into Mike in order to get that file done by the end of the day.

He stopped at the younger man's desk and was torn between being surprised and even more pissed about the fact that the kid was just sitting there, staring at the computer screen and getting absolutely nothing done. He wasn't typing, he wasn't looking at anything (the screen was on a blank spread sheet) and he certainly wasn't working. He was just...staring at the screen, big, blue puppy eyes wide and blank.

Harvey felt a muscle in his jaw begin to twitch. If there was one thing he couldn't stand it was laziness, especially when that laziness was coming from HIS associate. He slammed a hand on the top of the wall separating Mike's desk from the hallway, causing the younger man to start just a tiny bit, blinking owlishly up at his boss. Harvey didn't care, it got the desired affect and that's all he cared about.

"There better be a damn good reason you don't have those files done and have decided to instead spend the afternoon staring at a blank spreadsheet." Harvey half-growled, half-snapped as he took in the blank expression from the younger man. If he was tired and zoning out he needed to do it on his own time, not here at the office.

Then, before Harvey got the answer he wanted, Mike stood and brushed past him, heading straight for the bathroom and disappearing behind the swinging door. Harvey frowned, somewhere between yelling "come back here and answer me, dammit!" and following him. Finally, curiosity won out and he walked toward the bathroom, opening the door and stepping inside, locking it behind them. No one else was in there but he and Mike, all the stalls and urinals open and vacant. It was the perfect place to get some answers.

Mike was hunched over the sink, his hands wrapped around the porcelain basin so tightly his knuckles were turning white. In fact, he was looking pretty white himself, all the color drained from his face and giving him a very gaunt and haggard look. Harvey felt a very tiny fraction of his irritation ebb away into something that was not quite concern. It was curiosity, he reminded himself. He didn't give a shit about Mike, he just wanted to know why those files weren't done and on his desk when he'd told him to. He was just about to break into a tirade that included all those points when Mike spoke.

"The nursing home called..." He said in a croaked, breathy voice. "My grandmother had a stroke..."

And just like that all the irritation and anger that had filled Harvey all day was gone. It left him like a rush of hot air and he felt like a ball of lead had formed in the pit of his stomach. "I'm sorry." He said, hating how hollow and empty the words sounded. He wanted to ask, he needed to know, but he didn't know how to approach the subject. "Is she-?"

Mike shook his head weakly. "No...she's still alive but..." He shook his head again, his hands trembling a bit on the sink. "They don't know the extent of the damage yet...they said she's still unconscious and they won't be able to determine how bad it was until she wakes up."

Mike pulled away from the sink then, raking his hands through his hair and squeezing his eyes closed for a second. "God...what am I going to do?" He asked to no one in particular; it seemed he had almost forgotten Harvey was there. He pulled his hands down over his mouth and mumbled a few unintelligible words into them. "What am I going to do? What am I going to do?" He asked again, the question coming out like a mantra.

Harvey took a step forward then, reaching out and touching the younger man's elbow lightly. Mike jumped again, suddenly remembering his boss was there, and looked at him with wide eyes. "Listen Mike," Harvey started, clearing his throat awkwardly in the empty bathroom. "I would normally never say this but you should clock out early and go see her. I know how important this is and I can vouch for you if you leave a few hours early."

Mike looked at him with wide, glassy eyes, seemingly torn between action and words. "But Harvey, if-"

"If you don't go," Harvey said, cutting him off before he could finish that train of thought. "And something else happens to her, you're going to regret it for the rest of your life. And if you don't stop staring at me with those big, watery, puppy eyes I might hit you." The last part came out as a grumble because, badass lawyer or not, Harvey had never been able to stand the sight of tears.

Mike nodded shakily and took a step toward the door, hesitating for just a second. "Thank you." He said, the words sincere and genuine, before unlocking the door and slipping outside, disappearing down the hall.

"You're welcome." He mumbled as the door closed behind the kid and he was left alone. Harvey waited in the bathroom for what seemed like an hour but was really probably only fifteen minutes. There was still a pile of paperwork on his desk that needed tending to and probably a dozen messages waiting for him when he got back. He found he didn't really care about any of that though, not now.

**OOOOO**

It was nearly eight o'clock by the time Harvey got home and he all but tossed his phone and keys onto the table when he walked in the door. He hadn't accomplished anything that afternoon, not since Mike left, and the stress from the day was catching up with him. He needed a hot shower and stiff drink and maybe the night would end on a better note.

He walked into the bathroom, stripping off his clothes and starting the shower. Steam filled the room, fogging up the mirror and clinging to the counter tops. The hot water felt amazing after the events of the day and for a long time he just stood beneath the shower head, eyes closed, letting the water run over his face and down his chest and arms. He wasn't sure how long he stood there, it was a much longer shower than he would normally take, but he couldn't really bring himself to step out of the hot spray either. Finally, after much longer than he cared to admit, he turned the water off and stepped out, grabbing a towel from the cabinet and wrapping it around his waist. He needed a drink, something strong, and now.

He walked back into the living room toward the kitchen, still clad in nothing but a towel, passing by the table on his way. He glanced down absently, noticing the light on his phone flashing steadily. He grabbed it, touching the screen to see a missed call from Mike. There was no message, no answers, nothing but that ominous indication of a missed call. He sighed, silently hoping it wasn't what he thought it was, and re-dialed the number.

The phone rang twice before it was picked up, nearly dropped, some kind of muffled curse, and pulled to the ear of its owner. "Hello?" Mike's voice sounded unsure and wary.

"Mike?" Harvey asked, frowning a bit at the younger man's response. "I saw that you called. Everything alright?"

"Yeah." The younger man answered quickly, almost too quickly. "Yeah, I just-..." He stopped, seeming to weigh the delivery of his next words. "I was calling to tell you what I found out at the nursing home."

Harvey walked over to the couch, sitting down slowly. "Yeah? How's your grandmother doing?"

"She's fine. Well, I mean she's not _fine _fine, you know? They have her pretty drugged up right now but they don't think the stroke caused that much damage. They said she might have a bit of paralysis in her hands and that her speech may be a bit slurred for a while but they think she's going to be okay." The words came out as a rapid babble and Harvey had to listen carefully to make sure he heard everything. There was something about the kid's voice though, a certain nervousness and uncertainty that he was trying hard to hide.

"-and luckily she was close to the nurse's station when it happened so they managed to get to her really quickly and have a doctor come to look at her and-"

"Mike."

The younger man stopped his babbling for a second and was silent. "Yeah?"

"Are _you_ okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just have to-"

"Mike." There was a tone in Harvey's voice he used a lot when he wanted answers. It nearly always worked and it got him exactly what he needed out of any situation. This was one of those situations.

There was a soft sigh on the other line and Harvey could mentally see Mike deflating as the stress left his body. "I'm just a little shaken up, you know? I mean, what if she hadn't been close to the nurse's station and she had been in her room? What if no one found her? What if it had been worse and she-" The words stopped almost abruptly as they'd started and Mike sighed again. "I'm sorry, I've just been running through the "what-ifs" for a while now and its kinda hard to take in."

Harvey hesitated, trying his best to avoid the question he'd been dreading asking since Mike answered the phone. It was one thing to pretend like he didn't care, it was another thing entirely to prove that completely wrong. "Do you want me to come over?"

Mike was silent for a second and Harvey suddenly wished more than anything that he could take back what he just said. Then, before he could contemplate the idea of time travel any longer, Mike answered, "Yeah...um...I wouldn't mind the company right now, you know?"

Harvey nodded even though he knew Mike couldn't see him through the phone. "I'll be right over."

**OOOOO**

Harvey made a mental note to chastise Mike about his choice of living arrangements when he got a chance. This place was a dump. It looked like it had been built when New York was declared a state and had the cracked walls and broken sidewalks to add body to that theory. Harvey walked inside and pushed the button for the elevators, waiting rather impatiently for the car to arrive. When it finally did, he stepped inside, trying to ignore the smell of cheap cologne and what smelled like tobacco, and pressed the button for the correct floor. Definitely going to give Mike shit about his apartment building.

He arrived at the correct door and knocked hesitantly, stepping back just a bit and waiting. A few seconds later Mike opened the door, appearing worn and tired like he had in the office earlier. He was still dressed in his suit but the tie was missing and so where he shoes. For once he looked over dressed compared to Harvey's t-shirt and sleep pants combination.

"Hey." He said, smiling a bit and stepping to the side to allow the older man into his apartment.

"Hey yourself." Harvey replied, brushing past him casually and walking into the living room. "You're apartment building sucks." He said before he could stop himself.

Mike smirked a bit and closed the door, locking it behind him. "Yeah, well, we can't all afford condos." He teased, stepping past Harvey and into the kitchen. "Beer?"

The older man shrugged and sat down on the couch. "Yeah, sounds good." He looked at the coffee table, noticing several empty bottles shoved to one corner. It looked like Mike had started without him.

Mike appeared a few seconds later with two full bottles and handed one to Harvey. He flopped down on the opposite couch and took a long drink from the bottle in his hand. Harvey took a small sip before setting his on the table. "I see you started early." He said, indicating the bottles at the end of the table.

Mike looked at the bottles and nodded a bit, shrugging. "I had a 12 pack in my refrigerator...figured I'd better drink them before they go to waste. Now seemed like a pretty good night." He shrugged again before taking another drink.

Harvey watched him silently for a few seconds, reading his behavior. Finally, he sighed and leaned back into the couch, fixing Mike with a calculating stare. "So you want to tell me what's bothering you or am I going to have to tip-toe around it for a while before you give in?"

Mike smiled a bit but it was hollow and forced and didn't reach his eyes. "Nothing gets past you, does it?"

"Very little." Harvey agreed, waiting patiently for Mike to continue.

The younger man sighed and set the bottle down, staring at the table for a few seconds. "I've always known my grandmother wouldn't be around forever...I mean everyone has to die some time, right?" He shook his head a little, a bit of hair falling across his forehead. "But today...I don't know...it just made me realize that she's _not_ going to be around for much longer...that after she's gone I'll have no one. I mean, she took me in and raised me after my parents died and she's been the only one to ever look after me. She always knew I was meant for something better and she pushed me to do something with my life."

Mike leaned back a bit, glancing up at Harvey before averting his gaze. "I had Trevor and Jenny for a while but we all know how that ended." There was a pregnant pause before he continued. "Trevor used to step in where my grandmother couldn't. When we were in college, sometimes I would get so wrapped up in a project or a paper that I would forget to eat and Trevor would basically have to force me to take a break and step away for a while. When he started dating Jenny, she would always randomly show up with Powerade and crackers to make sure I didn't pass out at my desk." Mike smiled a bit and shook his head.

"But they're gone now, both of them. And my grandmother is in the nursing home and she's not going to be around for much longer and I really don't have any other family that lives near here..." He faded off, reaching down and picking up the bottle again. "I'm sorry about that...I didn't mean to drag you over here just so you could listen to me bitch and gripe about my life..." He laughed humorlessly and took a drink, dropping his gaze back down to the table. "Its just nice to have someone to talk to, you know? I don't think I'm ready to be completely alone just yet..."

Harvey was silent for a minute, watching him carefully from across the table. Finally, he took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh. "You're not going to be alone, Mike." He said, trying his best to ignore the younger man's puppy eyes staring at him.

"What?"

"I said you're not going to be alone." Harvey didn't mean to snap but he wasn't good at this. He wasn't used to comforting people, least of all another man, and being the shoulder to cry on was kind of throwing him off his game. "You still have me. And Donna. Donna plays a tough game but I'm pretty sure she would mother you a little if she thought you needed it. She keeps her distance but she's fussed over me in the past before." He smiled a bit before adding. "Don't ever tell her I said that because she's probably strangle us both with a pair of panty hose."

Mike snorted a bit into the beer bottle and Harvey continued. "Listen kid, I'm not going to sit here and tell you everything is going to be okay and the whole world is made out of sunshine and rainbows and that nothing bad is ever going to happen. Bad shit happens all the time, its unavoidable. The point is, no matter how shitty life gets and how lonely you feel...you can call me. I'm not the nicest person in the world, you know that as well as anyone, but I'm not going to leave you stranded either."

Harvey absently noted that if Mike's eyes got any bigger they might just pop out of his head all together. "I'm not saying I'll like it and I'm not saying you can call me at 3 am because you stubbed your toe getting in the door but if you ever need something, need _me_, I'll come. I'll try to help you out as best I can." He stopped, grabbing his own bottle off the table and taking a long drink. "If you end up in jail for murdering a prostitute though I'm leaving you there to rot."

Mike laughed again, this time a bit more real, and smiled warmly. They sat in a comfortable, companionable silence for few minutes before he spoke up again. "Hey Harvey?"

"What Mike?"

"Thanks."

Harvey rolled his eyes a bit. "Easy kiddo, I'm not saying we should go pick out curtains together or anything." The younger man smiled a bit more and Harvey fought the urge to smile back. "You're welcome."

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**Ngghhh...caring Harvey is like my cocaine! XD**


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